Happy Birthday, Aiden!!

It's hard to believe that a year ago, Vic and I were welcoming our first born into the world. We went from this:

Aiden at One Month

To This!!! My Little Bug at a Year Old!!

As in all cultures, the first birthday is a big one. In Korean tradition, you celebrate a child's first year of life with a Dol ceremony. We thought long and hard about whether or not we wanted to have one, but decided that we would. My mom would have wanted us to and what a great way to show some of my Korean culture to my son.

All I have to say is, planning a Dol is like planning a small wedding. There were invitations, flowers, decorations, favors, food, and entertainment. But I think that in the end it was a success! It was wonderful to have all of the most important people in our lives there to celebrate Aiden's first year... and our first year of parenting!!

We held the Dol in the King Farm Community Clubhouse, right in my brother's neighborhood. It was a gorgeous room and centrally located between our friends and family in Baltimore and Virginia. The weather forecast called for a wintery mix the night before the party, and for those of you that know me, you know I was freaking out! Luckily, it was only a light dusting that added to the beauty of the day!

I decided to make the theme Tigers and Jungle Animals.

Here are some pictures of the party!

The Dol head table. I tried to have all the main elements of the tradition Dol table.

Fruit: Represents future children and a happy life for the entire family

Red Bean Cake: Symbolizes good health and safety

White Rice Cake: Symbolizes purity and honesty

Dol Go Ims (The Towers): Are not usually part of a traditional Dol table, but I added them in for a modern flare and because they are circular, which represents a life without hardship

One of the towers has a tiger to represent Aiden's Chinese Zodiac... hence the theme. =)

And just as an aside... I made those towers. Thank goodness for hot glue, dried beans, Daddy, Uncle Rez and Aunt Jennifer!!

Here a picture of Aiden's birthday cake! Top cake courtesy of Giant, cupcakes made by me. =) I found this idea online with a different theme and sent a picture to a cake maker. After receiving a ridiculous quote, I realized I could make the whole thing for a fraction of the cost! The kids at the party were able to enjoy the cupcakes and we purchased another larger cake for the adults. Yay Costco! And yay for Etsy where I found the fondant pieces!

As our favor, we had a candy bar. Those chocolate bars in the middle were from my brother. and personalized with a Happy Birthday to Aiden! Thanks, Uncle Brian!

We also gave out traditional boxes of duk, which is Korean rice cake. Supposedly, the sharing of rice cake with family and friends is said to bring good fortune to the one providing it. And it's delish!

We also were able to have a balloon twister and face painter for part of the party. She really did an amazing job and is very talented! I wish I got some shots of some of

her balloon art, Elizabeth's "Angry Bird" really doesn't showcase it well.. but cute

nonetheless... this bird flies!

The main event is the actual Doljabi where objects are laid in front of the child and they are encouraged to pick one. It is believed that whatever they pick is a predictor for their future. We made Aiden's into a little raffle, with everyone voting for what they thought he would go for.

Basketball: Professional Athlete

Money: Wealth

String: Long life

Calculator: Accountant (For Uncle Brian)

Stethoscope: Doctor

Book: Scholar

I displayed some pictures of Aiden throughout the room as a way to show people how much he has grown and changed over the last year. I love this one, which shows the pictures Vic and I took of Aiden on the 25th of every month in the same chair, next to the same teddy bear (I posted the one month and 12 month pictures at the start of this blog post). Shout out to my friend Faye for the idea, it was a great one! We'll hang this one in our new house!

Here's the birthday boy playing!

We love Uncle Brian!

Aiden in his traditional Korean Hanbok. Hehe, he looks like a little prince. I don't think he liked wearing it all that much, but he was a good sport and wore it for the doljabi event.

If you noticed in the previous picture, Aiden is wearing a gold pendant. Here's a close up of it. It's actually on loan from Uncle Brian. It's tradition to give children gold jewelry on their first birthday. This is the necklace my parents gave my brother at this Dol. Having Aiden wear it for his meant a lot to me and made me feel like my parents were there with us too.

Aiden did score some nice gold bling of his own! A BIG thank you to Grandma, Grandpa and Great Aunt Di Thu who gave Aiden beautiful gold rings!

Daddy laid out the items for the Doljabi. Can you tell which one Vic wanted Aiden to choose? No cheating Daddy!!!

So... what did Aiden pick??

The stethoscope! Hooray!!

(as another aside, despite popular belief... Mommy did not prep Aiden for this choice).

Aiden was so cute during the Doljabi. He initially went for the basketball (which is what I thought he would go for.. hey, it's big and bright!). But then he stopped, looked at each object, then went for the stethoscope. It was almost as if he thought to himself "hold up, this is my future I'm picking!!". Way to go Aiden!!!

Yummy yummy food in my tummy!! We had a great spread of both Korean and Vietnamese food. Thanks to Grandma and the rest of Vic's family for cooking up a storm all morning! Everyone raved how great everything was!

Of course we had to pay our respects to Aiden's Vietnamese side too! Here he is in his Ao Dai, the traditional first birthday outfit! I think Aiden liked it too!! He is too cute!

We love Grandma and Grandpa!

A big thanks to the best Aunts!! They were so helpful throughout the entire party. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing family who love Aiden so much!

Happy birthday to Aiden!!!

Aiden is clean like his Mommy. He did not enjoy sticking his hands in the cake all that much. I'm sure that will pass though...

Us with some of my aunts and cousin from my Dad and Mom's side.

Aiden's party was so much fun. I was very proud of my little boy, he was amazingly good!!! We had a great time spending time with all our wonderful family and friends. A HUGE shout out to our posse (Mark, Josie, Rez, Jen, Brian, Joong and Sunmi) for helping us set up and clean up! There is no way we would have been able to do it without you!

After the big celebration, Vic and I were excited about spending some quality time with our little man on his actual birthday. We took Aiden to the Aquarium in Baltimore. I think he really enjoyed it! Here are some pics from the day:

Lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe

Aiden loved watching the bubbles!! Daddy says that Mommy looks more excited than Aiden in this picture... but I think we were equally happy here. =)

Aiden loved watching the fish swim by! He would reach up and tap the tank when one would get near.

The aquarium has an area that overlooks the inner harbor. It was a gorgeous day on the 25th, so we enjoyed soaking up some rays.

The jellyfish exhibit was our favorite part!!

What an amazing year it has been... and how quickly it has flown by! Aiden has brought so much joy and happiness into our lives, we wonder what we did with our time before him!? He has grown into such a sweet and handsome little boy.

We cannot wait to see what the next year will bring!

Mommy and Daddy love you VERY much, Aiden!!

Christmas and New Years!

There are so many updates to write about that I had to split this entry into two. I didn't feel that I could do the events justice by cramming them into one blog post!

Christmas and New Years was amazing! The holidays brought an especially warm feeling this year having Aiden to share it with. Watching him experience his first holiday season was both heartwarming and fun!

We started the holidays off with his first haircut! Well... his first official haircut. Mommy and Daddy had started snipping away at his sideburns a couple of months ago, but now that he had finally grown out of his male-patterned baldness, we felt a trip to Cartoon Cuts was in order.

I wish I could say that I got cute before and after shots, but considering he was mildly traumatized by the experience (thanks to Dora being on the TV), I decided not to push for formal poses. =) I have to say though.... $16.95 for a kids haircut when they only trimmed the sides and the back was a bit overpriced... but I'm happy to say that our second experience before his birthday was much better.

And then... Christmas!!! Aiden definitely hit the jackpot! He celebrated Christmas 3 times: With Vic's family, with my family and then just the 4 of us. Here are some shots from his big day!

Here's a family picture. We took a bunch and this was the best one. At least Rocky and Aiden and paying attention to each other! =)

Christmas with my family. We had lunch with my Aunts and Uncles on Christmas Eve and spend Christmas Day dinner with my brother and stepdad. Aiden was, of course, spoiled by Uncle Brian!

Funny thing about kids... Aiden got such wonderful and amazing gifts, but I think he would have been just as happy with a box of wrapping paper and ribbon!

Christmas Eve was spent with Vic's family. Aiden was spoiled with so much love and generosity by his Grandparents and all his aunts and uncles. It makes me so happy to see how much Aiden is loved, by everyone!

One of the many gifts from Grandpa and Grandma!!

Ever since our college years, Vic and I had made a tradition of visiting the National Christmas Tree every year. It was nice to be able to share that tradition with Aiden this year... and luckily it wasn't too cold!

I think Aiden's favorite part was watching the trains go round and round!

The state of our son after Christmas. That kid had never napped so well!

We rang in New Years with our best friends in a low key get together. Aiden wasn't able to stay up until midnight, but we made sure he got to play with the New Years goodies the next day. Thanks to Auntie Jennifer for the hat!

I decided not to make a New Years resolution this time around. I have a bad track record with them, I never seem to follow through. I instead decided to make a promise to myself and my family to be a better mother, wife, sister and friend so that all of the special people in my life know how much I appreciate and love them.

Happy New Year!!!

10 Months and Counting!!!

It's hard to believe that Aiden is well into his tenth month and fast approaching the eleventh marker! My little boy is growing way too fast, his first birthday will be here before we know it!

We've had a lot of "firsts" in the past few weeks. With the holidays approaching, I was a bit worried about how I would feel about the first Thanksgiving and Christmas without my mom. It's bittersweet to be both excited to share these holidays with my baby boy, but so sad that my mom isn't around to enjoy this time with us. But we are so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing family and friends to support us.

Aiden's First Thanksgiving:

My chubby monkey all smiles on the drive to his first Turkey Dinner!

Mommy and Aiden relaxing before dinner at Grandpa Gordon's house.

Daddy, Mommy and Aiden before sitting down to grub.

Aiden loves his Uncle Brian!!

Vic took this cute picture of Aiden playing near a picture of my mom. It made me feel like she was there, smiling at her grandson.

Dinner was absolutely amazing... and the leftovers were delish!! Aiden got to enjoy a couple bites of mashed potatoes, but enjoyed his own turkey and sweet potato (courtesy of Gerber).

As Aiden is growing older, he's also growing more mobile and more curious! It's so fun watching his little facial expressions with every new sound, new toy, and new development! Here's some of the things he's doing now:

Pulling to stand and cruising!! Aiden's now able to cruise along all types of surfaces... and does it the best when tempted. The cell phone works wonders to get those little legs moving. I can't believe he'll walk soon!

Stair climbing! Aiden LOVES climbing up the stairs. He's quite fast now! We're still working on coming down though... that'll take a bit more time.

Hello, Sippy Cup! So.. I've been trying to transition him to a sippy cup for a few weeks now. He's not a big fan of it. He really enjoys flinging it around and banging it on people's heads. But there are those special moments when he'll stick the spout in his mouth and water will come out. It's hilarious to watch his face crumble up in surprise!! Aiden actually does much better drinking out of a regular cup... but it's also a lot messier since he also enjoys sticking his entire hand in it as well.

We finally have a tooth!!! Vic and I have been saying for MONTHS that the reason for Aiden's sporadic fussiness was because he was teething. Now that he ACTUALLY is, he's an angel... no fever, no crying, just my happy little bugaboo. Looks like Mommy and Daddy lucked out with this milestone!!

I just like this picture. This is how I'm greeted almost every morning. Aiden is such a mild- mannered baby. I hear him wake up at 6-6:30am and he just lays in his crib, cooing to himself until one of us goes in to get him around 7:30am. I love that he can entertain and soothe himself, it let's Mommy and Daddy have just a few extra minutes in the morning. Thanks, Aiden!!

Getting Ready for Aiden's First Christmas: We are SO excited to celebrate Christmas with Aiden this year. It's hard to believe that at this time last year, Aiden was still in my belly.

Aiden's first visit with Santa Claus! I was a bit worried about how Aiden would handle sitting on Santa's lap. You always hear stories about little kids screaming and kicking because they're freaked out by the big guy in the red suit... as was the case with the little boy that was in front of us in line. But Aiden did pretty good! He was very interested (and slightly suspicious) of the large, strange man with the hairy face. Considering Aiden has stranger-danger now, I would say this visit was a success.

We're also SUPER excited about spending Aiden's first Christmas with his Grandparents. They love him so much!! I have a feeling I know who will score big in the gift department!! We were able to help them decorate their house for Christmas and Aiden had a lot of fun helping!

This is a fun one of Daddy and Aiden.

Aiden is the best present!!

Grandpa and Aiden enjoying the tree!

A few pictures at our house.

We tried to get a good one of Aiden and Rocky... we'll keep trying. =) Poor Rocky, it was hard to get him to sit next to Aiden. Now that Aiden likes to interact with his surroundings more, that means Rocky gets chased.. and when caught, his ears and tail are pulled. Poor puppy.